VMI superintendent resigns after Black cadets describe relentless racism

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VMI superintendent resigns after Black cadets describe relentless racism

By Ian Shapira
Oct. 26, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. EDT

The superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute resigned Monday morning after Black cadets described relentless racism at the nation’s oldest state-supported military college, and Gov. Ralph Northam (D) ordered an independent probe of the school’s culture.

Retired Gen. J.H. Binford Peay III, 80, had been superintendent of the 181-year-old school since 2003.

In his resignation letter to John Boland, president of VMI’s Board of Visitors, Peay said that he’d been told by the governor’s chief of staff that Northam and other state legislators had “lost confidence in my leadership” and “desired my resignation.”

“It has been the honor of my life to be the Superintendent of VMI for over seventeen years,” the retired four-star general wrote. “I always have and always will love the Institute, all of our cadets, alumni and the entire VMI family.”

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Laura Vozzella also contributed to this story.

Ian Shapira
Ian Shapira is a features writer on the local enterprise team and enjoys writing about people who have served in the military and intelligence communities. He has covered education, criminal justice, technology and art crime. Follow https://twitter.com/ianshapira